The Nutrition Fertility Link: An Evaluation of the Evidence

The determinants of age-specific marital fertility rates in non-contracepting populations are discussed and the physiological link between nutrition and reproduction in women who are chronically malnourished rather than famished are examined. Initial attention is directed to menarche and menopause for these set the outer bounds to the time of childbearing. This is followed by a discussion of the determinants of birth interval. Birth interval and its components are of primary concern because if populations are to fit different numbers of births into similar childbearing spans the intervals between these births must vary. There is reason to believe that the age of menarche might be affected by the level of nutrition. In some countries where nutrition has remained inadequate the age…